Perching method for killing insects gains popularity
Environment-friendly perching method for killing harmful insects is gaining popularity among the paddy farmers of the district, thanks to the motivational programme of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
As per suggestion of the field-level sub assistant agricultural officers (SAAO), the farmers at many villages in the district have erected bamboo poles on their paddy fields at specific distances, DAE officials said.
In search of food, birds perch on the poles and eat the pests.
The method, alternative to the use of chemical pesticides, is now playing a significant role in protecting paddy fields from pest attacks, said farmers.
It appears as a blessing against the backdrop of random use of toxic pesticides that threaten the ecological balance.
As the pesticides find their way to water bodies, some indigenous species of fish have already become extinct and many others are following, farmers said, adding that using chemical pesticides also costs a good amount of money.
Now a large number of farmers are using perching method as it has been proved effective to save paddy fields from pest attack, said Mobarok Hossain, a farmer of Panchagram village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.
A few years ago, the agriculture department undertook a programme to popularise perching method among the farmers to help them produce paddy without using harmful insecticides, said Alok Adhikary, an SAAO in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.
"Most of the farmers have already learned it and we are trying our best to introduce the natural method in all the paddy fields in the area," he said.
This method is playing a vital role to save the environment from pollution by toxic pesticides, said Safayet Hossain, deputy director of Lalmonirhat DAE.
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